I’ve had a theory percolating in the back of my head that the state, which reconfigured itself from feudalism to capitalism as the new, evolving mode of power, is working it’s way toward totalizing power that no longer requires the capitalist configuration. I hope I’m wrong, because this would mean a level of confidence in obedience to state authority on a level we’ve not experienced before. The main driver of this theory is 2-fold. 1st, the rise of AI has a consumer paradox. If AI replaces labour, then there is no currency circulating, and no mechanism for the accumulation of capital. 2nd every move by virtually every aspect of the state over the last decade has focused on data collection. Put these two together, and you don't have capitalists collecting data so they can sell you stuff, you have statists collecting data so they can control you directly without the intermediary of capital. And if they can complete the panopticon, then they wont have to exert any effort to control you. They will simply manipulate perception to drive behaviour wherever they want.

For now this is just a theory in the back of my mind, but essays like this thoughtful one by Black Lodges explore the rich philosophical analyses that probably wont help to dissuade my from my line of thinking.